Gender Discrimination
by Nature9000
Summary: When Spencer takes his sister out, he faces the stigma of being a grown man with a young child in his midst. Suspicion falls on him despite his connection as a sibling and Carly's guardian. When a policewoman forces him to leave Carly with a strange woman at the pool, he learns of a shocking truth from Mrs. Benson.


Gender Discrimination

Disclaimer: Don't own iCarly

A/N: This covers an issue coming up in society these days, a problem that goes ignored far too often. Society and feminists look upon the female gender as pure or perfect, while men are supposedly monsters. I saw a video where a father sat down on an airplane with his daughter, and a stewardess ushered him away because he was a man. Same happened with reporters doing a test at a pool, where a man and a woman were taking pictures with a camera without film, the woman was ignored entirely while people culled out the man and eventually a lifeguard told him to stop taking pictures. That spawned this oneshot.

* * *

-WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOCIETY ASSUMES ONE IS WITHOUT FAULT; IGNORANCE IS DANGEROUS-

Ten years old and excited for the new day, Carly couldn't sit still in the back seat as her brother drove to the brand new park downtown. He was grumbling about having to take time off to come, but no one else was going to take her to the park.

It didn't take long to find a decent parking spot, so she bolted out the door at her brother's warning to settle down and not go far. Spencer grabbed his book from the passenger seat next to his and followed her out to the children's playground. Almost instantly he could feel the eyes of a group of women nearby.

"Soccer moms," he mumbled under his breath. He called most mothers at parks this, because they would act just like a typical soccer mom. They would gossip incessantly about nearly every person in the park, hover over their own children worse than Spencer's next door neighbor did with her son, and they felt the need to impart their 'superior' parenting advice and expertise on every person that came through.

For Spencer, his law textbook was his shield. He dropped out of law school, in truth, so he could spend more time with his sister and watch over her when his dad left. What he told Carly was that he was bored with law school, and what he told his father was he was still in it and needed more money each semester.

His father preferred that Spencer hire a babysitter and go to school, but Spencer didn't trust anyone to look after his little sister.

When he sat down on the park bench, Carly ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you for bringing me to the park, Spencer." Spencer smiled as Carly's hug tightened. "I appreciate it!"

Not far he saw the soccer moms point and whisper to each other, covering their mouths as if they thought it would keep him from realizing their gossip. His smile faded and he narrowed his eyes. "No problem Carly. Go have fun, okay? I'm going to catch up on some reading…"

Carly picked up his book and raised an eyebrow at him. "Why do you still read your law books?" He took the book from her and pat her on the shoulder. In the corner of his eyes he saw the blonde mother gasp in alarm while the red-haired one folded her hands onto her chest.

"Because it keeps clucking hens away from me." He smirked and Carly looked over her shoulder. The girl scowled at the women that were glaring at him, then she stormed off to the children's playground. Spencer raised his book in front of his face with a sigh and started reading over the first few words of the eighth chapter.

Though art was his greatest hobby in life, and he adored it, he still had a lingering love for the legal system and a great respect for the process. So it was moments like this that he opted to leave his art at home and study law. He considered continuing his education when Carly graduated and was no longer his responsibility.

It didn't take long for the sun to vanish and a shadow was cast over him. His eyes pulled away from the text and he lowered the book slowly. "Can I help you?" The blonde woman was standing in front of him, her hands were on her hips and her eyes tore him apart with accusation.

"You monster, what do you think you're doing with that little girl?"

"Oh." Spencer looked past her and raised an eyebrow. "You mean my little sister? Yeah, she really wanted to come to the park." He raised the book back up and narrowed his eyes on the words. "Mind your own business, soccer mom."

The woman gasped aloud and grabbed the book out of his hands. "You do not get to talk to me like that." Spencer dropped his hands to his knees and exhaled slowly as the woman raised her hand and held her left hand at her waist like it was glued on. "You're a man, you shouldn't be at a park around children because-"

"Because what? Tell me." Spencer clapped his hands and grinned while shooting back a fiery glare. "Because I'm going to snatch them away? Because I'm a danger to my own sister."

"That child looks nothing like you." The woman snapped her finger in the air and flung her long hair over her shoulder. "Her mother should be here. I wonder, does her mother even know where the poor girl is at?"

Spencer rolled his eyes and shook his head. "She's watching while I'm being clucked at by a hen." Their mother passed away several years prior. She was military as well and was killed overseas. "She's deceased. Thank you for that."

"Well if she were alive, I imagine she would understand how important child safety is."

"You're saying my sister's not safe?" Spencer stood up and found himself struggling not to raise his voice. In the distance, Carly was sitting at the bottom of a slide and watching closely. The woman crossed her arms and turned her head away. "I watch my sister like a hawk, I don't trust anybody around her, so don't try to pass that my sister's not safe. The only danger I see her in right now is from a bunch of soccer moms that would tear her away from her brother."

"Oh right, it's so like a man to pass himself off as a relation." The woman stared back at him and popped her cheek with her tongue. "A man is more likely to be a child molester and should not be alone with a young child."

"Uh huh." Spencer crossed his arms and leaned to the side, looking at the playground. He frowned as Carly started to approach a kid to play with them. Unfortunately he'd had enough. "Carly!" His sister froze and turned around. "We're going home."

"What!" She screamed. "We just got here." The girl threw her arms into the air and grabbed her hair tight. "But Spencer…"

"No buts, I'll bring you to the park another time." Carly growled and stormed over with her fists clenched at her sides. The woman started to reach for the girl, saying that she would be happy to take the child home for her own safety.

"Don't touch me!" Carly delivered a swift kick at the woman's leg, causing the woman to jerk back and cover her mouth.

"Carly!" Spencer cried out in surprise and his sister looked up at him. He shook his finger at her, despite feeling proud as hell. "We don't kick strangers."

"It's her fault."

"That doesn't make it right." Carly walked towards the car and Spencer flashed a smirk at the woman. The woman swept her hair away from her face with a loud huff and spun on her heels.

A few weeks later, Spencer was flying back from the military base with both Carly and Sam in tow. They had gone to visit Mr. Shay for a few days. He made sure to take the aisle seat so the girls would be protected.

As they chattered about the many things they did, Spencer decided it was best to get started reading. However, it didn't take long for him to feel a swift tap on his shoulder. He lowered the book and looked up at a stewardess with a pleasant smile. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask that you move." Sam and Carly turned their heads and Spencer furrowed his brow.

"Why?"

"A few passengers are concerned."

"About?" He looked out at several women studying him closely. His shoulders fell and his eyes rolled. "You're kidding me." He cleared his throat and slammed the book shut. "No, I'm not leaving my seat." The woman pressed her lips together and Carly reached across Spencer's lap.

"Don't make my brother move!"

"I'm sorry sir, I'm going to ask again that you move away from the children." The stewardess looked over her shoulder and pointed to a nearby woman. "If you don't mind, ma'am, perhaps you could keep these children safe." Spencer growled vehemently and started to refuse the substitution.

"I do not trust anyone around my sister. I will not move."

"I think this would be comfortable for everyone." The steward grabbed his arm and pulled him from the seat. Carly grabbed his wrist, screaming for the woman to let him go.

"No," Carly said with a firm voice. "I don't like that lady. I don't know her, I don't want her near me. She's a stranger, I don't know her. I want my brother."

"I'm sorry, but the passengers aren't comfortable with a man sitting with unattended children."

Spencer pulled his arm away from the woman and narrowed his eyes. "They're not 'unattended'." He looked past her to see an airline officer stand from his seat. Spencer groaned and looked at the other woman. "Fine. Give me your name and identification number."

"I'm sorry sir, you don't need that information."

"I do if she's sitting next to my sister!"

"I'm afraid not." The lady ushered him to the seat and Carly started to scream in anger. Spencer put his finger to his lips and looked at the stewardess who had her hands to her hips.

"I think you should know, I've gone to law school. I know the laws, and if anything happens to my little sister, I'll be suing your airline." The stewardess raised her hands and let out a sigh of frustration before pushing him into the chair. He looked over at Carly and frowned as his sister started to lean into Sam and away from the woman sitting next to her.

When summer came around, Carly begged for him to take her to the city pool. She had to twist his arm and pout before she could get him to agree to take her. These days it seemed like he couldn't take her anywhere without being called a child molester, and it was beginning to infuriate him, but he couldn't keep her locked up and unable to enjoy her life.

The pool wound up being the last place he wanted to take her. It was filled with parents and grandparents that were casting their suspicious eyes upon him. Spencer put on his shades and reclined in the pool chair while watching to make sure Carly didn't go too far into the deep end.

The girl was laughing and enjoying herself, and remaining in the shallow end, so he felt like he could at least attempt to relax. "Sir?" A woman's voice distracted him just as he managed to shut his eyes.

He took a deep breath and looked up at a blonde haired policewoman. "Oh for god sake." He removed his shades and looked over as Carly started approaching him. Her face was scrunched and her lips were pursed. Before she could get to him, the policewoman extended her hand and told her to stay back.

Spencer whisked his hand out and moved his eyebrows together. "That's my sister. What is the problem? Oh wait, people are complaining again, aren't they?" He stood up and motioned for Carly. "Come on, let's go home."

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot allow you to leave with this child."

"Excuse me?"

"Some have complained that you are hugging this child and they think it's inappropriate." Spencer smacked his forehead and slid his hand slowly down his face. "If you have proof of your connection, then that is fine, but I think it would be best if you leave the park without problem."

"I'm not leaving my sister by herself…"

"She won't be." The woman whistled at a woman that was watching from the pool. He stared at this woman with a stunned expression; it was the same woman from the park some time ago. The blonde stood up and approached, casting a suspicious smirk. "I'll leave her with this nice lady until this child's parent can pick her up."

"Par-" Spencer put his hand to his chest and his brow started to wrinkle. "I have guardianship of her, she is my little sister. Our mother is dead and our father is out of state."

"Then go home and come back with proof of guardianship, sir." Spencer knew if he resisted, he'd be arrested for not heeding the officer. The smug woman stood in front of Carly as if she were protecting the child.

"She'll be taken care of," the woman said, "Don't worry." Carly reached up for him, but the woman pushed her arm down. It took every bit of strength for him to back down and go home, since he didn't have Carly's papers on hand.

It was a bit of a drive, and not a second passed without his worry for Carly's safety growing out of control. He stormed out of the elevators and marched down the hall, nearly bumping into his neighbor in all his rage.

Marissa Benson called out to him and he stopped at the door. "Where's Carly?" Marissa worked for the Seattle Police department and was dressed in uniform. Spencer crossed his arms and turned to her.

"You know those times I talked about, where I keep being scolded for being a man around my little sister?" Marissa raised a hand to her chin and her eyebrows rose. "Someone from the pool called the cops on me, and this officer told me to get proof that I have custody of Carly."

Marissa jerked her head back and looked towards the elevator. "So where's Carly?"

"The cop handed her to some woman at the pool-same woman at the park a couple months ago. Said Carly would be 'safe' with that woman." Marissa gave him a skeptical look and squinted at him.

"Wait. A police officer gets called to a pool on complaints, takes a kid from her brother and gives her to a stranger? What was this officer's badge number?"

"I don't know. I couldn't see the woman's badge." He unlocked his door and started muttering under his breath.

"You…couldn't see the woman's badge?"

"Too frustrated to look." He froze and raised his head slowly. The policewoman flashed before his mind; he'd seen her before. His blood ran cold and he turned towards Marissa. "The woman on the plane-the one that the stewardess made take my seat…that was her. She was one of those soccer moms at the park too."

Marissa closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Oh Spencer." He turned fully towards her and Marissa grabbed the radio on her chest. "Spencer, I don't know any police officer in our department that is going to just blindly take a child from their relative and hand that child to a complete stranger…If they suspect something, they're going to watch over the kid themselves."

"Should I-"

"I want you to stay here." Marissa started walking to the elevator and what she said in the radio made his heart sink. "I need all units towards the Seattle Valley Pool, stat. Look for two women with a ten year old girl, dark hair. One of the women will be impersonating an officer." Spencer started to move for the elevator but stopped when Marissa extended her hand and shot a narrow glare at him. "Stay. Here." His throat tightened and his legs started to grow weak.

"M-Marissa what's going on?"

"Not now." Spencer whimpered once and he watched helpless as Marissa entered the elevator. She gave him one last look of pity before the doors closed.

The next half hour was excruciating as he paced the floor. His heartbeat was speeding out of control and his hair was a mess from his frantic scratching.

Finally after what was an eternity, he heard the front door open and turned in time to see Carly flying in. "Spencer," the girl cried at the top of her lungs. His heart broke as his sister buried her tearstained face into his shirt. She was trembling violently and weeping.

He hugged her close and looked up as Marissa walked in and closed the door behind her. The woman smiled sadly and folded her hands together in front of her waist. Her presence wasn't making him feel any better, but Carly being here was a greater relief than anything.

"Carly, sweetie." Carly looked up at Marissa and sniffed on the mucus running from her nose. Marissa knelt on one knee and placed a gentle hand to her shoulder. "I think you should go on to your room and get some rest, okay?"

Carly nodded and hugged Spencer one last time before slowly leaving the room. Spencer stood slowly with Marissa and looked her in the eyes. "Please," he begged, "Tell me what's going on."

Marissa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "You're lucky, that's what. Carly is." His voice broke and his hands started to shake. "Lately there's been a child abduction ring in Seattle. A group of women who stalk an intended victim for a while…" He cupped a hand over his mouth and looked in the direction his sister left. His tears welled up in his eyes and he felt his knees beginning to buckle.

"For a long time it's been suspected that this ring was run by men, because that's what society expects." Marissa crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "That's how these women have been getting away with it for so long."

"Y-You're saying…"

"Parents who have lost their children report a woman dressed as a police officer that either gains their trust or their child's trust somehow, or says they'll watch over the child, and the child goes missing."

"No." His shock rolled out of his lips with a heavy breath and his hand gripped his stomach tightly. Marissa clicked her tongue and slowly shook her head.

"We would find these children, young girls and boys, usually discarded in the area they went missing…they've usually been sexually assaulted and then smothered." Spencer stumbled towards the couch and collapsed onto it. He threw his hands up to his face and tried to scream into them, but he couldn't. It felt like all the energy in his body had been sucked from him.

"Oh god. I-I can't believe I almost handed my sister over to-"

"She's safe. That's what matters." Marissa breathed in sharply and looked to the stairs. "When you said it was an officer, I was suspicious. We acted fast, so thanks to you we were able to catch them."

"And Carly?" He raised his head and spoke with a weak voice. "Did they? Did they do anything?"

"She's shaken up, there's that much, but we got there in time. The nearest officer was only a minute or two from the pool, he caught them as the women were starting to drag her into the bathroom."

His stomach twisted with nausea and anger, but that subsided as soon as he remembered Carly was home and safe.

"Don't beat yourself up about this, Spencer. Carly will be fine, though she is shaken. Just look after her." The tears welled up in his eyes and he nodded swiftly. He'd never let her out of his sight if he had to.

Marissa unfolded her arms. "You see. People look at a woman, they think nurture and security, a woman could never do something so terrible. Child molesters, abusers…women can't possibly do it, it must be a man." Marissa's eyes grew sharp and she started to scoff. "They want equality, but refuse to admit that women can be equal in crime. The cold hard truth? Women can be abusive, women can commit sexual assault, they can commit illegal activities just the same as a man while a man can be as nurturing and caring as anyone else."

"They…tried to take Carly at the park, and then at the airport they insisted on letting the woman take her through security for safe measure, but I didn't let them."

"Good." Marissa's sharp eyes narrowed further and her muscles tightened. "There is evil out there around every corner, Spencer. Evil is in every human mind, and it isn't gender-selective. A man and a woman both can choose whether or not to commit an evil act. Take care of your little sister, and if anyone _ever_ challenges you because you're a man, stand strong…and if you have to, give me a call."

"I will." His heart swelled with relief and he flashed a smile at Marissa. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She smiled back at him and looked up at the stairs. Spencer looked as well and his heart stilled when he saw Carly in her nightgown, watching him with puffy, red eyes.

"I can't sleep," Carly said. "I don't like the dark, and it feels like the walls are moving." Spencer let out a sigh and looked at Marissa one last time.

"Will you two be alright, Spencer?" He gave her a nod and started for the stairs.

"We will." He looked up at Carly and the girl held her breath. "Carly? Would you like me to read you a story or something?" The girl wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Yes."

Marissa chuckled softly and glanced back at the door. "Great. Now I need to go explain to my son what 'stalking' means and why he should quit staring out the peephole…" Spencer snapped his eyes over and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing, Spencer. Go look after your sister."

* * *

What happens when we, as a society, start to believe one group is without fault? When the truth is ignored, it allows for those willing to commit dangerous acts to slip by unsuspected. The truth is, laws are broken every day by men and women alike. Child abductions, the molesters and the monsters can be women as well, but you never hear about it because society doesn't want you to know it. Should you shelter your children or each other? By no means, but you should definitely be watchful of strangers; men and women alike.


End file.
